Chapter Text
The sun was bright. Too bright, in fact. It made Izuku want to stick his head out of the window and say will you keep it down, Mr. Sun, please and thank you .
Alas, it was graduation day. And his mom would not let him stay in bed for the whole day. He tried. She wouldn’t budge. So he dragged himself to school with a firm reminder to her, his dad, and Mirio to not come anywhere near it. He’ll get his certificate and leave and continue his sleep. Because he’s actually the only sane person in the household.
“I’ll come and pick you up,” his dad said, wringing his bony hands.
Izuku loved his dad, but no . “It’s just middle school graduation, not a college one. It’ll be boring and stupid. Please just stay home. I’ll be back before lunch.”
And he did exactly that.
His last thought before he stepped out of the school ground was: well, now what?
Fast forward three years later, Izuku had learned to smile at cue, laugh at the right moment, and people loved him and hated him in the same breath. It’s actually funny, but nobody was laughing, so Izuku didn’t.
At least he still had his parents, who loved him unconditionally.
(His laugh and smiles were genuine when he was with Kacchan. It was terrifying.)
The first time Izuku met Sir Nighteye, it wasn’t anything exceptional, except for how terrifying it had been.
(Haha.)
Of course, he had heard of the hero, and while he’s very remarkable, Izuku only had peripheral interest in him. Togata mentioned in the passing that he interned with him, but quickly clammed up when Izuku asked for further details.
When Nighteye appeared on their doorstep one night, Izuku had stared stupidly for a few seconds before stutteringly asked if there's anything he can help him with?
“Is your father home?” Sir Nighteye had asked brusquely.
If it were a stranger asking this question, and not the Sir Nighteye, Izuku would have called the police on him, no hesitation. “Why?” Izuku asked suspiciously.
Sir Nighteye’s glasses reflected the light in a vaguely threatening manner. “Is he, or is he not?”
Izuku took an involuntary step back. “Please wait, sir,” he said, then closed the door in his face.
Oh my god he just slammed the door in Sir Nighteye’s face he’s going to die-
He buried the thought and swiftly made his way to the living room, where his dad and mom were.
“Dad, Sir Nighteye’s at the door and he’s asking for you.”
Toshinori spat out his coffee.
Apparently, they were not on good terms.
“Tell him to go away,” All Might, number one hero, Symbol of Peace, whispered to Izuku frantically, as if asking him to turn away a simple door-to-door salesman. As if it wasn't the Sir Nighteye himself at the door.
“What? No! He’ll kill me,” Izuku said before he could think better of how ridiculous that sentence sounded. Of course a hero wouldn’t kill a minor. Probably.
Inko stared at them, looking nonplussed.
“Well, he’ll kill me , instead! He’s scary. Tell him I’m not here.”
“Dad, no!”
“Izuku, my boy, do it for your dear old dad, okay?”
“I think he knows you’re here,” Izuku whispered, horrified.
He got nothing on Toshinori, who looked ready to keel over and imitate an animal’s survival instinct by pretending to be dead.
“Well, it’s good to see that you’re in good health, All Might.”
Toshinori let out a very weird noise, then proceeded to look mortified. Izuku was feeling second-hand embarrassment from all of this. All Might was very cool, but Yagi Toshinori was not.
He turned around and saw his mom standing behind Sir Nighteye. “Mom!” he said, aghast and betrayed.
“You two were arguing like a pair of two year olds. What was I supposed to do?” she said, clucking her tongue at them. Izuku colored brilliantly under Sir Nighteye’s very judging look.
She stepped beside Sir Nighteye. “Have a seat, sir. Would you like some refreshment? How about tea?”
“That would be lovely, thank you,” Sir Nighteye replied, taking the seat right across Toshinori. Izuku was worried for his dad. He hadn’t moved since the hero stepped into the room. It can’t be that bad.
After his mom left them to go make the tea, Sir Nighteye turned to All Might. He looked very unruffled, a sharp contrast to Toshinori who looked very much like he wanted to run away. It’s a look that Izuku sometimes saw.
“I know you don’t want to see me,” said the pro hero somberly, to Izuku’s surprise. “I know we’ve gone years without speaking to each other. And we have only ourselves to blame for that. But please, for your own sake, will you listen to what I have to say?”
Toshinori’s tense body deflated like a poked balloon. “There’s nothing left to say. You’ve said all I needed to hear.”
Sir Nighteye’s eyes flicked to Izuku. “Do they know?” he asked cryptically.
Toshinori shook his head. The pro hero’s face turned hard at that. “I know you have no regards for yourself, but this is going too far even for someone like you.”
“Inko knows,” Toshinori said. “Izuku...doesn’t.”
Izuku latched on to that. “What?” he asked his dad, searching the gaunt face for an answer. “What do I don’t know?”
“Izuku, please go to your room.”
For a moment, he gaped at the order.
“Please,” Toshinori pleaded. His eyes did not meet Izuku’s. He looked small, defeated. Maybe that’s why Izuku stood up and walked away even as his heart sank.
"You know what they're hiding from me, don't you?"
Togata choked on his treat. Izuku stared at him as he tried to get the food in the right tube again.
"Does it have to do with my dad spitting blood now and then?"
The young pro hero gave him a watery smile. "I can't say yes or no to that."
Izuku stared at his own treat. The ice was melting. He stirred it while deep in thoughts. "That's definitely a yes, then."
Togata whimpered something pathetic.
It's been five full months since Sir Nighteye's visit when his parents finally sat him down and told him that his father was dying. Had been, for years even before he met them. They told him about Sir Nighteye's offer of a hope in a place far away.
When they did, Izuku had been hanging onto Kacchan's every word again for four months.